http://nowlebanon.com/NewsArticleDetails.aspx?ID=147142
February 17, 2010.
The…..(loading)……wait…..(loading)…..is almost…..(loading)……over.
In May Lebanon’s laughably small amount of internet bandwidth is expected to increase by an estimated 3,000 percent. At the very least, the new access will mean faster internet speeds for both consumers and businesses and could result in falling prices – currently among the highest in the world.
The bandwidth will come via the underwater India-Middle East-Western Europe (IMEWE) fiber optic cable, which will connect to Lebanon in Tripoli. With a 3.84 terabit/second capacity, the cable will bring extra bandwidth to eight countries and run some 13,000 kilometers between Mumbai, India and Marseilles, France.
Initially announced in 2007, the cable was supposed to be operational in mid-2009, and Telecom Minister Charbel Nahhas has said publically that it will be up and running in May. The Telecommunications Ministry did not respond to repeated interview requests. A source familiar with the project, who spoke anonymously because of a non-disclosure agreement, told NOW that the cable is nearly ready but is facing some problems in Egypt.
At a recent conference, Nahhas said Lebanon will get around 30 gigabits/second of bandwidth from the cable, according to Gabriel Deek, president of the Professional Computer Association. The source familiar with the IMEWE cable confirmed the amount.
Currently internet bandwidth comes to Lebanon via two underwater cables – CADMOS from Cyprus and BERYTAR, which links Lebanon to Egypt via Syria – but the exact amount the country has is unclear. Deek told NOW that the country has less than one gigabit/second, but in a previous interview representatives of the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority said the figure is at least one gigabit/second, if not a little more.
Either way, the end result is the very low maximum speed (2.3 megabits/second) for internet service currently available will skyrocket. How high the speeds will go is not exactly clear – and ultimately up to the state to decide. However, Nahhas’ predicted 30 gigabits/second will actually be enough for Lebanon to sell some, Deek said.
“They are expecting to sell a part of this bandwidth to neighboring countries,” he told NOW. “We will have extra international connectivity to sell to the neighbors.” Deek did not know what percentage of the new bandwidth would be sold.
Nor did he know how the IMEWE cable would impact prices.
“The minister said during our last workshop held at the Phoenicia [Hotel] last month that the prices are going to be dropped, but in any case this is not the mandate of the ministry to set prices,” he said.
Indeed, the cabinet actually sets prices for both internet and mobile phone service. And all of this new bandwidth will be the property of the state-owned telecommunications company Ogero, which did not respond to repeated interview requests. Lebanon’s internet market is only partially liberalized.
The state allows internet and data service providers – companies like Cyberia, IDM or Sodotel – to operate freely and sell services to customers as they like. However, they must purchase from Ogero the internet access that they are reselling to consumers.
The prices Ogero charges them are very high compared to other places in the world. For example, it costs internet and data service providers $2,700 per month for two megabits/second in Lebanon. In London, the same amount of bandwidth is $446 per month, and in Frankfurt it is $1,074, according to a recent World Bank report.
These high prices are then passed onto customers. In Morocco, for instance, a 512 kilobit/second connection is between $20 and $26 per month. The same service in Lebanon ranges from $40 to $47, according to the World Bank. A web search found deals on a 512 kilobit/second connection for around $17/month in Egypt and $21 in Jordan.
While this new bandwidth will certainly be important for Lebanon, there is more work to be done.
“The IMEWE cable is something very important, but this is not the solution to all our problems,” Deek said. “We still need some serious infrastructure locally.”
Nahhas has pledged to invest $165 million in 23 infrastructure improvement projects, but “nobody knows what the projects are,” Deek said.
